


it's so dark tonight (but you'll survive certainly)

by deadpoetsam



Series: Tumblr prompts [4]
Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Mention of Jeff - Freeform, Mild Hurt/Comfort, On the Island - Freeform, a lil bit of angst, im not touching the shark/nora, just a dash, leatin, lots of flirty banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 17:40:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30126441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadpoetsam/pseuds/deadpoetsam
Summary: "So, why did you steal the task from Shelby and Toni?"Or, Leah and Fatin take a trip to the lychee tree, get lost, and are forced to spend the night away from camp together. They get to know each other better in the process (and maybe they talk about feelings).
Relationships: Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke
Series: Tumblr prompts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2212962
Comments: 12
Kudos: 96





	it's so dark tonight (but you'll survive certainly)

“Jesus, how fucking far is this?”

Fatin is breathing heavily behind her and Leah just laughs and shakes her head. Fatin did not have the endurance for this, but her pride was too strong every time Leah asked her if she needed a break. It honestly was endearing.

They are walking on a narrow path, on their way to the lychee tree, since Toni and Shelby’s hoard had only lasted them a few days. Fatin had volunteered for them to go, which was surprising, seeing as Fatin, despite her best efforts, isn’t the most productive person on the island. 

“So, why did you steal the task from Toni and Shelby?” Leah asks, holding a branch to the side, stepping aside to let Fatin pass, who walks past her with a curious smile. 

“Steal?”

Leah just hums, knowing that she is avoiding the question. 

The path widens and Leah falls in step beside her. She stares at the side of her face. God, she’s beautiful. It’s unreal, the way she still manages to look like this while they are stranded in the middle of nowhere. From her hair tied up messily to the mud clinging to her face, she still looks like a goddess. 

Leah is still staring when her foot catches under a root. 

Shit. 

She stumbles forward, almost falling, when Fatin quickly grabs her arm and steadies her. 

“Hey, be careful,” Fatin’s voice is soft and she stares at her with concern.

The closeness and the softness make Leah feel warm, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. 

“Thanks, I’m okay,” She mutters, not looking into Fatin’s eyes. 

Fatin grabs her chin with the hand that isn’t still holding her arm and forces her to make eye contact, the touch tingles on her skin, “You sure?”

Leah’s mouth goes dry and her mind is racing. They are so close. If she had the guts, she would just lean forward and kiss her. But she can’t, her body is frozen, and she’s still being forced to look into Fatin’s concerned brown eyes, which really doesn’t help her panic. 

“Yeah,” She manages to say, but it comes out croaky and rough. 

“Okay, just…” Fatin stares off to the side in thought and then looks back at her, “Tell me if there’s something I can do,” She finally lets go of her arm and face, but Leah misses the touch immediately, her body still burning from the closeness. 

They start walking down the path again in silence, Leah actually looking at the ground this time, only shooting small glances at Fatin from time to time. She can’t risk looking clumsy again, scared that she’ll think she’s obsessing over the island again. She really isn’t, but she can’t convince Fatin of that without confessing her love. 

“They wanted this task, you know,” She says, still curious why Fatin avoided her question from before, taking a different approach this time. 

“Yeah, ‘cause they want to bang.” 

Leah laughs and turns to look at Fatin, she has a proud smirk on her face. 

“Yup, so why did you claim it?” She says, still curious why she would get in the way of Toni and Shelby just to get to walk a whole day. 

Fatin stops walking and stares at her in surprise, as if she had expected a different response.

“What?” Leah asks, also stopping. 

Fatin, it seems, regains her composure. 

She smirks, “I didn’t think you were so observant, Rilke. You surprise me,” And she starts walking again. 

“Oh, so you thought I was blind?” Leah says teasingly, falling in step next to Fatin again. 

“No, no, listen, Leah, I just thought you didn’t have a gaydar, being hetero and all,” Fatin says, a tone of wistfulness in her voice. 

Oh, Fatin thinks she’s straight. Well, she can’t really get mad about that, because she did spend the first days constantly clinging to Jeff’s book religiously. A twinge of regret passes through her. 

“That’s insulting, I may have been obsessed with another man, but you don’t have to accuse me of being a hetero,” She says, staring at Fatin with an attempt at a frown.

Fatin looks at her and she seems surprised, eyebrows raised, “You’re not straight?”

“What did I just say about insulting me?” She says teasingly. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry, just surprised, again,” Fatin mutters. 

“I think you’re the one who doesn’t have a gaydar, I showed up on that plane with cuffed jeans,” Leah jokes. 

Fatin snorts, “Don't get cocky with me Rilke, just because I'm wrong once doesn’t mean anything, but since your gaydar is god tier, why don’t you tell me what my sexuality is.” 

Leah doesn’t have to think long. 

“You usually say you're bi, but you prefer the term pan because you don’t really care about gender,” She says confidently, she had heard all the rumours about Fatin back at school, the stories about her hook-ups with girls didn’t go past her. Also, she is pretty good at reading people. 

Fatin’s mouth falls open, “How the fuck do you know that?”

“I think you sometimes forget you’re popular,” Leah says, laughing at the surprised look on Fatin’s face. 

“Are you admitting you listen to rumors Rilke? Not very hipster of you,” Fatin teases, winking at her. 

“Oh shut up, Jadmani,” Leah says, enjoying the banter. 

She looks around at the trees and realizes she has zero idea where they are, “Hey, um… do you know where we are? Did we have to turn left already?”

Fatin stops and looks around, slight panic and confusion covering her face.

“Well, fuck.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Shut up Rilke, it’s that way,” Fatin says, pointing to the left, where there is a small path. 

Makes sense. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” She says, following Fatin down the path. 

“Stop saying sorry, Rilke,” Fatin says.

“Sorry,” Leah says, just to tease her. 

It wasn’t that way. 

They’ve been walking for hours and they still don’t see the tree. The sun is starting to set, covering everything in an orange reddish glow. 

“Fucking hell,” Fatin says, breathing heavily. 

“You're not allowed to complain, you were the one who went the wrong way,” Leah says grumpily, walking right behind her on the narrow path that leads upwards. Her muscles are burning from the effort. 

“In case you don’t remember, you were the one who asked where we were,” Fatin says matter-of-factly. 

“Fatin, we’re lost and the sun is starting to set, let’s not argue,” She says, already tired of this conversation. 

“You started it,” Fatin says, looking back and sticking out her tongue. Leah barely manages to hide her laugh. God, Fatin’s childishness was adorable and also a pain in the ass. 

“Yeah, and I'm also ending it,” Leah says, still hiding a smile. 

“Well, since you clearly know everything, why don’t you tell me what we should fucking do,” Fatin says angrily, but more in the way a toddler demands ice cream. 

Leah almost burst out laughing at that, but she manages to cover it with a cough. She didn’t want to risk making her angrier by laughing at her. 

Fatin pushes a bush to the side and then her movement stills. Leah can’t see her face. She walks further and looks over Fatin’s shoulder. Then she sees the pinkish red of lychees. 

“Fuck yes!” Fatin yells and runs to the tree and hugs it dramatically. 

Leah finally lets herself smile, staring at Fatin, who does a small victory dance. 

“See, I was right, we were walking the right way,” Fatin says while walking back to Leah, waving her hands around for emphasis. Her excitement makes Leah’s heart melt, god this girl was adorable. 

“Yeah, sure Jadmani,” Leah says, punching her shoulder playfully while grinning. 

“Don't be too rough, darling,” Fatin says and winks at her, ”We can do plenty of wrestling later, when I have energy again. You’ve worn me out,” She continues while smirking, then walks away and starts grabbing lychees from the tree. 

Leah is pretty sure her face matches the colour of the lychees. God, Fatin has no right saying things like that so effortlessly, without even realizing the effect it has. Leah likes to think she’s bold, but Fatin is a whole new level. 

She hurries to the tree, needing to do something instead of just standing there. 

Maybe that was a bad idea, because now she’s standing closer to Fatin. 

Fatin takes a bite out of a lychee (and Leah tries not to stare, but she fails), “Jesus, these taste like fucking heaven.”

Leah can never keep up with Fatin’s flirty banter, she always ends up being the one who is blushing, but now she has the perfect idea. 

She also takes a bite and moans loudly. Fatin wasn’t wrong, these do taste like fucking heaven. She looks to the side, and Fatin is staring at her, mouth open and pupils blown. She raises her brow (while knowing damn well why), “What?”

Fatin snaps out of it, now the usual smirk back in place, “Nothing, just that that lychee is getting more action than me. I don't mind though, keep the pretty noises coming.”

Leah blushes ferociously and averts her eyes. Even when she has the upper hand this girl manages to turn it around, dammit Jadmani. 

* * *

When they are done eating and collecting the lychees, they decide to stay here for the night, not wanting to risk getting lost in the dark, since they barely managed to find this place with sunlight. 

It was a good call because by the time they have made the place safe and ready for sleeping, the sun has gone down and it’s dark, the moonlight is just strong enough to kind of see each other. They are sitting side by side, close to their makeshift “bed” (it was just a patch of grass that they had removed all sticks and leaves from). 

“God, the stars, they look beautiful,” Fatin says, staring up at the night sky in awe. 

Leah bites her lip and stares at her own feet instead of looking up. She had always loved the stars, but after Jeff, she couldn’t bear to look at them. They reminded her of old conversations and lost moments and it hurt. Only the first days on the island she had looked up, after burning the book she averted her eyes every night, looking at the water or sand instead. He still causes an ache in her chest, and she hates it. 

She doesn’t want to say anything, but she can’t keep it in, “Not to bring the mood down, but all the stars we see are already dead, doesn’t that bother you?” She turns her head to look at Fatin. 

“Why would it?” Fatin also turns her head and looks at her. It doesn’t go past Leah how close their faces are. Fatin’s eyes look black, only a sliver of silver dancing in them, caused by the reflection of the moon. 

“Why wouldn’t it?” She shoots back, wanting to know why Fatin loves the stars. Maybe then, Leah will be able to learn to love them again. Maybe Fatin could wipe out the memories of Jeff and fill her mind with new ones. Happy ones. 

Fatin takes a deep breath and turns her head, staring up at the sky again, breaking the eye contact Leah loved, yet dreaded. 

Finally, she speaks, “They may be dead, but they are still alive to us. We appreciate them from galaxies away, still loving them even though they are burning and dying, isn’t that true beauty? You as a poetry lover should know that,”

Every layer Fatin showed her was new and special. Every time Leah was surprised by the depth of Fatin again. Every time she falls deeper, slowly sinking into love. But she can’t say that. So, she acts like she isn’t astonished by her mere existence. 

“Wow, and you call me a nerd,” She deadpans, still staring at the outline of Fatin’s face. 

Fatin turns to her, “Really? I say some deep shit, and that’s your response?” She says it teasingly, but with genuine curiosity. 

Leah can’t lie. She always could, to Jeff, to Ian, to her parents, but not to Fatin. 

“Sorry, it’s just...,” She tries to find the words that won’t completely embarrass her, “you surprise me,” She says, staring into her eyes. Fatin smiles and then laughs. 

“So you thought I was stupid?” 

“No, no that’s not what-” Leah stammers, but Fatin interrupts. 

“Relax Leah, just kidding,” She says, laughing, “But I’ll try to show you my nerdy side more, since you don’t think someone who studies music has depth,” She lays back down, staring up at the night sky again. 

Leah can hear the teasing tone in her voice, but still it kind of stings. The fact that she didn’t realize that Fatin might be interested in more things than she lets on. It makes Leah crave more knowledge, more information. She wants to see every contour of Fatin’s story. Maybe this is what it meant to love every part of someone. 

Fatin breaks her out of her thoughts when she sits up and points to the sky, “Look, that’s the Canis Major!”

Her almost childish excitement makes Leah melt, a warmth bubbling up in her chest. So, for the first time since Jeff, she sits up and stares up at the sky, trying to find the constellation. The sky is beautiful, the sky is clear and the stars are bright. She can see why Fatin was in awe. 

“The one that kinda looks like a stickman,” Fatin adds, still pointing up with a grin on her face. 

Finally, Leah sees it and smiles. 

“Wow, that’s so cool,” Leah says, and then the fact that they are stranded on an island jumps back into the front of her mind, for the first time since running into the water. Since that day her mind had been filled with Fatin, “Wait, can you like, figure out where we are with the stars or something?”

Fatin laughs, “Only if I had a PhD in astrology, which I don’t.”

“Oh, yeah… Sorry, dumb idea,” Leah says, and goes to lie back down, averting her eyes.

Fatin grabs her arm before she can, a soft tingle goes through her body, and she’s looking into her black eyes again, “No, no, it’s a pretty smart idea, maybe we should ask Nora tomorrow, she seems the type who would know more about astrology.” 

She smiles, “Sure.” 

Fatin lets her arm go (much to Leah’s dismay) and goes back to looking up at the sky like a kid looks at their first picture book. Leah also looks at the sky again, but there’s one thing she’s puzzled about. 

“How come you know this stuff?”

The excitement slightly drains off Fatin’s face and her shoulders tense. She looks down and stares at her feet. 

Shit, she struck a nerve. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Leah says quickly, not wanting to force Fatin to say anything. 

Fatin shakes her head and gives her a small smile “No, it’s okay Leah, really. It was…,” She pauses, still staring at her feet, “My dad taught me.”

Oh.

From everything Leah has heard about the man, she would gladly punch him. But, obviously, Fatin also had positive memories of him, that have been contaminated by the ugly things he has done. 

“When I was younger, and my brothers were just babies, me and my dad would sometimes go on late night drives to avoid the chaos at home, and to make sure I wouldn’t feel less appreciated than my brothers. One time he brought a blanket and he told me all about the constellations,” She says with a sad reminiscent smile, still staring at her feet.

Memories of nights with Jeff flash through her head. 

They have both been heartbroken, only one by family and one by a lover. 

God, how strong Fatin is. But right now, she looks so vulnerable. 

Leah reaches out and lays her hand on Fatin’s shoulder, “I’m sorry.”

It comes out croaky and rough. Fatin turns her head and stares into her eyes, “What are you sorry for?” 

“For what you’ve been through,” Leah says without breaking eye contact. 

Fatin turns away, “Leah, I’m fine.”

She doesn’t let her shoulder go, just squeezes a bit tighter. She knows that Fatin struggles too, she’s just better at hiding it. But Leah wants to know about it, she wants to be able to help her, as Fatin has helped her. 

“Fatin,” Her voice breaks in the middle of her name, and the last it comes out as nothing more than a whisper, “I know you don’t trust yourself.” 

She finally turns to look at Leah again.

“Should I?”

It comes out soft and broken and it fucking crushes Leah’s heart. 

“Yeah, you should,” Leah says confidently. She trusts her more than anything in this whole world. She lets go of her shoulder and opens her arms. Fatin first looks confused but then leans into her. Leah softly wraps her arms around her, enjoying the warmth that flows through her.

They stay like that for a while, just Leah holding her, serving as a protection from the world. It's quiet, but not awkward, just a comfortable silence. A silence that said: 'Even if no one cares, I still will'

Finally, Fatin speaks up, “Leah, remember when I said that I wasn’t so sure if I knew shit about love?”

Of course, she remembers. The sentence had been stuck on a loop in her head these past days.

“Yeah?” She says, curious where Fatin is going with this. 

“Well, I think I know more now,” Fatin says, looking up into Leah’s eyes. 

Hope fills Leah’s chest, the implications of that sentence spinning in her head. 

“You do?” 

Fatin breaks eye contact and looks at the ground, her hands drumming on her thighs. She looks nervous and shy, a side of her Leah has only seen once, on the day she apologized. 

“Yeah,” She looks up at the stars, like she’s deep in thought, “Because of you.”

Her breath catches in her chest, a small gasp leaves her mouth. She really hoped she wasn’t reading any of this wrong. 

“What do you mean?’ Her voice cracks, but hopefulness is apparent in her tone. 

“Leah,” Fatin looks up into her eyes again, “I think I’ve fallen for you, and that’s scary as fuck, but I just can't get you out of my head. maybe you don't feel the same way, but I needed to get it out,” Her voice trails off at the end, looking away again. 

Fatin likes her back. Leah has never been this happy in her life, ever. She knows how much it means that she is saying this. She knows how scared she is to hurt her. 

“Fatin-” She starts, but Fatin interrupts. 

“You don't have to say anything yet, I just wanted you to-”

Now Leah interrupts her, not wanting to let her doubt herself like this, “I think I've fallen for you too.”

Fatin’s mouth falls open, no sound coming out. She just stares at Leah as she stared at the sky just moments before. The amazement and happiness Leah can see in the moonlight make her feel so  _ loved _ . 

“Can I kiss you?” Leah says, not enough patience to wait. 

Fatin snaps out of it and smiles. She leans forward and brings their faces closer together, the lack of space making Leah feel light-headed, her pulse quickening. She stares at Fatin’s lips, still waiting for an answer. 

“Leah, I’m sure.”

Leah pulls her in by her neck and closes the gap. Their lips finally meet. Sparks shoot through her body and her chest feels so fucking warm. Fatin’s lips are soft and god, she’s wanted this for so long. She tangles her hands in her hair and Fatin holds her face, softly stroking over her cheek with her thumb. Her body felt like it was on fire, but she also felt safe. She had never felt those feelings at the same time before. 

Fatin is the first to break away and leans her head against her shoulder, breathing heavy, Leah’s hands still tangled in her hair.

“Fuck, Rilke,” She mumbles into her shirt, moving her hands to Leah’s back, softly rubbing it. 

Leah just hums and smiles. She lets go of her hair and pulls her into her lap. Fatin doesn’t protest, if anything, she curls into her more. 

Fatin kisses her neck, “Can’t have me close enough, can you?”

Leah laughs and kisses the side of her head, “Yeah, I’m sure you can find a way to deal with that.”

“Yeah,” Fatin laughs and hugs her tighter, the last part is a whisper, “I need you close too.”


End file.
